FOR CORRESPONDENTS:

Issue No. 32 - January 2013

Message from the New Chair of Correspondents, Professor Michael Singer

I am honoured to take on the role of Chair of Correspondents, following on from Caroline Series. The Newton Institute plays a very important role in the mathematical life of the UK and to fulfil that role attracts a significant fraction of EPSRC's budget for the Mathematical Sciences. I see it as crucially important that the Newton Institute's activities contribute to the research activities of as many UK mathematicians as possible. The Newton Institute has a number of schemes which allow and fund short visits to the Institute by interested mathematicians from the UK and also encourages resident participants to visit other mathematics departments in the UK. In order to realize the potential for new collaborations that are offered by the large number of overseas mathematicians resident at the Newton Institute, good communication between the Institute and the rest of the UK mathematics community is essential. That is where you come in.

Later in this bulletin, you will see a description of the communication activities that we hope all correspondents will get involved with. I think it is very important that the communication goes in both directions. While we expect you to pass information to your colleagues about what's going on and how to get involved at the INI, we also want you to pass on your colleagues' comments and criticisms and to let us know about obstacles to participation in Newton Institute programmes.

I hope to have the opportunity to help the Newton Institute review its communication strategy over the next two years and will be asking you all for suggestions about that in due course. I hope you will feel free to get in touch with me at any time and look forward to meeting you at the Annual Meeting of Correspondents in June.

Reminder of Role of Correspondents and Circulation of Materials

As there have been a number of new Correpondents appointed recently, we thought it may be useful to remind all Correspondents about the important role that they hold and what is expected of them. All of this information is available on our Network of Correspondents page.

WHAT CORRESPONDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO DO

Act as a focus in their institution for communication between the Institute and the UK mathematical science community

Distribute the information provided by the Institute widely within their institution, especially to relevant departments other than mathematics

Ensure that members of their institution are aware of the various sources of information concerning Institute activities (e.g., web site, email lists, etc)

Encourage participation in Institute programmes, particularly by younger scientists, and act as a source of advice to members of their institution

Promote the Junior Membership scheme

Keep the Institute informed of any suggestions, comments or criticisms, and draw its attention to cases where there are (or appear to be) obstacles to participation in Institute programmes

Ensure that local seminar organisers are aware of the lists maintained by the Institute

WHAT THE INSTITUTE PROMISES TO DO

Send out via email Correspondents' Bulletins three times per year, with a range of reminders, information, updates and contact details

Send out full details of all programmes, workshops and other similar activities, together with contact and registration details, both by email and by post

Send out copies of the Institute's calls for proposals

Inform Correspondents of major new decisions or developments

Respond to queries, suggestions, comments and criticisms from Correspondents or others in their institution

Encourage programme organisers to arrange satellite workshops, with a contribution of £5K from the Institute

Maintain lists of potential travelling seminar speakers

Hold an annual meeting for Correspondents

Annual Meeting of Correspondents: Monday 10 June 2013

This year's annual meeting of Correspondents will be held on Monday 10th June. Your involvement would be greatly valued. Invitations will be issued closer to the time, but in the meantime please keep the date free. Comments and suggestions made by Correspondents during the Discussion Sessions are greatly valued by the Institute, and it is hoped that the Correspondents' Day Lecture is enjoyed by all.

Turing Gateway to Mathematics

In 2013, the Institute is launching the Turing Gateway to Mathematics to widen access to non-mathematical scientists, offering mathematical insights into their research and inviting them to raise questions that may prove challenging to the mathematical community. The initiative is so named because of Turings exceptionally wide influence across a very broad front, and is being developed as a channel for the interchange of knowledge and ideas between academics and users of modern mathematics.

In addition to running the visitor research programmes, the Isaac Newton Institute brings academic researchers in the mathematical sciences together with industrial, commercial and government organisations and individuals through activities such as the Open for Business events. The success of these events together with follow-up activity associated with the Institutes research programmes is a key motivation for the Turing Gateway to Mathematics initiative.

Gateway activity, to be located in INIs Faulkes Gatehouse, would expand on the current schedule to include events such as scoping meetings for programme proposals, bespoke training programmes, summer schools and practical courses on communicating impact, as understood by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Research Councils UK (RCUK).

The courses will be mainly addressed to students and to non-specialists and will be organised in order to make them accessible to the UK community.

Some funding is available to support students who wish to attend.

Those who were unable to attend the introductory workshop in January 2013 may be interested in watching the seminars online at their own leisure.

Women in Mathematics Day

The Women in Mathematics Day is an annual event organised by the London Mathematical Society. This year it will be replaced by a two day event on 18–19 April and will be held at the Isaac Newton Institute. As usual, sessions will include talks by women mathematicians at different career stages and a poster session. There will also be a number of practical sessions to help women get the most out of their careers in mathematics. Sessions will include advice on how to get funding for your first postdoc and beyond and discussion groups on topics such as combining family and career, working overseas and making the next step in your career. The event provides an opportunity to meet and talk with women who are active and successful in mathematics.

The event is open to all but would be of particular interest to women mathematicians, especially PhD students and those at an early stage of their career.

A full list of forthcoming workshops is available on our Event Calendar.

Rothschild Seminars

These lectures are delivered by the Rothschild Visiting Professor or the Rothschild Distinguished Visiting Fellow and are aimed at a general scientific audience. To receive regular announcements please subscribe to the emailing list at: http://www.newton.ac.uk/mailing.html.

Reminders

The correspondents' webpage is available and contains a list of all correspondents, past bulletins and other information.

Anyone from the UK can simply turn up at the Institute for up to 2 days without any kind of formal invitation. A brief email to info[at]newton.ac[dot]uk beforehand telling us when you intend to arrive will help us to provide you with some facilities. Visits lasting more than 2 days require an invitation. Full details available on our participate information page.

The Isaac Newton Institute strongly encourages its long-term participants from overseas to visit other UK institutions during their stay. INI will pay the travel costs (but not accommodation etc.) for such visits on request. Do please alert the organisers of your local seminar series to this possibility, and direct them to the webpage listing those participants who are willing to speak elsewhere. Complete lists of invited participants are under each programme.

Early career researchers are encouraged to apply to become Junior Members of the Institute. To be eligible you must be a research student or within 5 years of having received a PhD (with appropriate allowance for career breaks), and you must work or study in a UK University, academic institution or R&D group in industry or commerce. Junior members may apply for special grants to allow them to attend Institute events. Do please advertise this opportunity to suitable candidates. Further details are available on our junior members information page.

All seminars and workshops held at the Institute are streamed live, recorded and placed online for free download subject to the consent of the speaker. This collection forms a substantial resource for the UK mathematical community. All available seminars are listed on our seminar archive.

This bulletin is sent in January, May and September each year. We hope you find it a useful way of keeping in touch and a helpful source of information to distribute to your colleagues. As always, the Director is very happy to receive comments or suggestions regarding the Institute and its activities, including possibilities for future programmes. Please email director[at]newton.ac[dot]uk. He would be very pleased to visit your institution to talk about the Institute, what's happening here, and to hear your views.